Letters to the editors: July 3

Character needed to stand up against racism

On a news program several years ago, I watched a young truck driver named Randall Terry, who happened to be white and who accidentally drove into the wrong neighborhood, get pulled out his semi by a young black man who then proceeded to brain him with a cinder block, and would have done it again, which would have probably killed him, were it not for another black man — a pastor, who stood over Mr. Terry and, in all likelihood, save his life.

Just recently, a racist young white man took the lives of nine members of a church — simply because they were black. But then, thousands of people of all different races, in that same town, came and stood together in condemnation of this evil and senseless act. A contrast between multitudes of people wanting to do good vs. two men bent on only evil, and trying to justify it by blaming race.

Unless we stop doing some things and start doing others, our children and grandchildren will be fighting this fight a hundred years from now. For instance, all sides need to have a zero-tolerance for racial epithets. Words will never die as long as we keep using them. Stop listening to the race-baiters and politicians who make a good living off of us being at each other's throats. The last thing that they want to talk about is character — there is no money in it, and a bigger, more intrusive government cannot fix what only the family and the churches can

And don't expect the impossible. If you look at me, you're going to see an old geezer that is white. If I look you, and you are Black or Hispanic, that's what I am going to see. This is a reality and we can't pretend otherwise. But I have thought about this long and hard and I don't recall God asking me before I was born what color I wanted to be. And having read His New Testament more than 35 times in my 68 years, I cannot find any issue greater in His sight than my character, and when I see how far that I fall short in that area, I cringe. So, how could I be so stupid and short-sighted to judge another person on the issue of race, when I bet that God didn't ask them either.

— Ron Tackitt Carlsbad

Letter to editor becomes reality 15 years later

It's surreal to live long enough that your own writings become local signposts of a national trend. In autumn 2000 I wrote a few letters to the Carlsbad Current-Argus opining that gay folks merit equal civil rights.

Back then, the U.S. Armed Forces wouldn't allow openly gay men and women to serve. Nor could openly gay men serve as troop leaders for the Boy Scouts of America. No state legally recognized gay marriage. Progress since then has occurred nationally and locally.

Carlsbad had a chapter of PFLAG — Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Their first local picnic drew 70 attendees, most non-gay but all supportive. Thereafter, the draw diminished. A few years later I happened upon a local gay elder just prior to another PFLAG picnic. "I hope before our picnic we draw some anti-gay letters in the Current-Argus," said he. "Those always bump up attendance."

Among Republican millennials now, 60 percent favor allowing gay marriage. For an older segment of society, some human diversity still is taboo. But soon enough they'll be as relevant as Walter Winchell.

Apropos of those early writings supporting civil rights for gays in the year 2000, I'll paraphrase what one gay-hater wrote in response to me: "Ah, the sodomites and their minions are now writing letters to the paper!" Ouch! Back then the Current-Argus had a brilliant, ebullient reporter who was gay. Would he be upset with that slur? Quite the contrary: he relished the wording. He enthused, "'Minions of Sodomites' — what a great name for a band!"

— Michael Bromka Carlsbad

Rep. Pearce put people over politics on trade

For months, working people in New Mexico and across the country galvanized to stop fast track legislation in D.C. While ultimately the fast track vote did not go our way, the momentum on this issue is on our side. We organized together, made our voices heard and will continue in in our efforts to build a fair trade movement for the 21st century.

We are especially proud of our New Mexican Congressional delegation for standing together and voting against fast track. Both our Senators and all of our Representatives put people over politics and opposed bad trade policy. We want to recognize Rep. Steve Pearce in particular for doing the right thing in spite of the pressure from his party's leadership.

We're not always on the same side of every issue as Rep. Pearce, but we look forward to continuing to work with him and all the members of our Congressional delegation on advancing trade legislation that supports and protects workers, jobs, and our environment.